Brown tax initiative poised for November ballot

Supporters of Governor Jerry Brown's tax increase initiative believe they've got the signatures needed to qualify for the November ballot, less than seven weeks after hitting the streets.

The initiative to temporarily raise income taxes on the most wealthy and sales taxes on everyone wrapped up its paid signature gathering on Wednesday, according to Democratic political consultant Gale Kaufman, a top advisor to the campaign.

It will likely take several weeks for elections officials to verify all the signatures, collected at a brisk pace following the governor's eleventh hour compromise with liberal activists who were originally pushing a millionaires tax initiative.

Meantime, Brown's fall tax hike competition also made news Wednesday.

Education activist Molly Munger and her PTA allies began submitting signatures for their temporary, virtually across-the-board income tax increase to help fund K-12 schools. The independently wealthy Munger has bankrolled the entire signature gathering effort -- some $7.2 million. And as she saidin a March interview, she's prepared to self-fund the entire 2012 campaign.

Food Labeling: Wednesday also saw news of another initiative that'll no doubt get national attention: a requirement to label genetically modified foods sold in California. The initiative was largely bankrolled by a Chicago alternative-health food entrepreneur, and has generated an opposition effort that's already raising big bucks to kill the proposal.

Human trafficking: Another signatures-still-being-counted initiative seeks to stiffen the fines for human trafficking, often involving sexual exploitation of minors. Its authors include Chris Kelly, Facebook's former chief privacy officer and a 2010 Democratic candidate for attorney general.

Add those two, plus the water bond, and you have 11 potential ballot measures. But the safe bet... for now... is eight or nine.

Keep in mind that November 2010's ballot featured nine propositions, while there were 12 in November 2008 and 13 in November 2006. This fall is looking to be, by comparison, a relatively light load for voters.

For Brown, news that his initiative is now headed for the ballot probably means he now can spend the next six weeks focused on an on-time state budget... one with an even bigger hole to fill... before officially launching his campaign to pass the tax initiative.